The Quick Rap: Three Questions for … Winona’s Sex and Death 101 Director, Daniel Waters
Nearly 20 years ago industry newbies Daniel Waters and Winona Ryder teamed up to make a rebellious indie satire about an elite clique, all named Heather, who are recruiting ‘friends’–wherein people soon start showing up dead. It became an instant teen classic, shooting the likes of Ryder, Christian Slater and Shannen Doherty to iconic, youth/cult fame status. Fast forward to 2008 with Waters‘ new film, Sex and Death 101, a sex farce about a philandering would-be groom (Simon Baker), his list of conquests, and an avenging femme fatale (Ryder)–wherein people soon start showing up dead. With Winona headlining, the buzz returns.
Filmmaker Waters sheds some light on why Winona remains his muse–and will hopefully keep enchanting audiences with her macabre, quirky ways.
On 1989’s Heathers vs. 2008’s Sex and Death 101:
“It’s kind of funny how little either one of us has changed–and that sometimes scares the people around us. Two Peter Pans on the set can be kind of spooky, but Winona and I still click on the same idiosyncratic, improperly socialized wavelength. I’m so proud that she seems to be the last of the classic eccentric ‘movie stars’. She hung out with Katharine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and many others. Lindsay Lohan would probably just throw up in their laps, but Winona has that old-time mojo. Going to her house is like Sunset Boulevard.”
On Winona‘s dark, eclectic character:
“The character Death Nell ended up being the perfect harness of Winona‘s strange energy. During shooting, Winona was worried she wasn’t being femme-fatale-y enough, but like in Heathers, it’s her wobbly, real, and luminous humanity that makes a dark and twisted character someone we love, despite ourselves.”
On topless times–and why the film crew almost needed neck braces:
“I kept a very relaxed and studiously unserious set…but even I was a little shocked when Winona insisted on rehearsing her love scenes topless–who was I to protest? … Using two cameras, the set was not as closed as it should have been. Winona was classically undisturbed, making [Three’s Company] Mrs. Roper-like cracks about how she hadn’t been on a date for 11 months. Laughing at the wit of a beautiful, charming, and unclothed actress, while maintaining eye contact is something they don’t teach you on Project Greenlight.”
Sex and Death 101 opened in limited release April 4th.
